Start with the answer
Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators pay in Boulder, CO and Kahului-Wailuku, HI
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators is $71,060 per year in Boulder, CO. It is $124,990 per year in Kahului-Wailuku, HI. Boulder, CO is 43.1% below Kahului-Wailuku, HI on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 47-2073 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 190 wage and salary jobs in Boulder, CO and 400 in Kahului-Wailuku, HI. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings
